The New Addition To Indigo Cloud Court
by Cloud On The Horizon
Summary: I haven't read The Siren Depths yet so this is based on The Serpent Sea. Basically a few warriors become consorts and a new queen arrives.


**A/N: This is something I rewrote for my story "Moon's Real Clutch" because I decided that Chime will become something interesting and Cloud even better. So...Let's go!**

A dark shape cannoned towards a uneven glittering surface on the forest ground. It went right through the dappled mosaic of the lake, causing a great splash and a few small yellow-green flying lizards to flutter away in alarm. After the splash, the water calmed, everything went back to still. The Indigo Cloud Court sentries did not notice it. It climbed out of the water just as the moon came out from behind a cloud. The bright light from the absolutely round cream coloured circle in the sky, reflected off its scales, revealing its shape and colour. It was a Raksuran Queen, with her scales a brilliant sliver-grey and an overlaying web pattern of pristine white. She shifted from her Arbora form to her Aeriat form, and a few hard flaps carried her into the sky.

Bright sunlight filtered through the window and shined on Chime, the sudden light startling him awake. Beside him, the new warrior Snow stirred. As he opened his eyes to greet his new bower-mate, instead, his eyes widened in shock and he let out a squawk of surprise when he saw his friend's scale's colour. They were a glimmering ash black, the colour that only consorts had.

"Wha...? What is it?" Chime leapt to his feet, alarmed at the look on the young warrior's face. He looked down onto his body. Why was he in his Aeriat form? He was sure that he had gone to sleep the previous night as a groundling!

His own eyes widened as he realized his change of colour. Previously, he had been a electric blue with an undersheen of gold? And now he was black? What in the world just happened? Chime shifted back in confusion and saw that his groundling form was now darker coloured, with darker hair as he looked into the bower mirror. Oh...he thought, slipping on his usual clothes and glancing at his reflection again. Gazing deep into his own now dark eyes, he let out an anxious hiss; something was...different.

He pushed past Snow, who was trying to squeeze out of the door the same time as him, letting out an annoyed growl. Snow leapt back, hissing too, and sulkily followed behind him.

"Heart! What is the meaning of this?" Chime spotted the bronze with honey-coloured hair groundling female, or Heart the Chief Mentor. Heart looked up from the book in her hands, not looking surprised at all. Actually, she just sighed in resignation mingled with horror. "Oh no; not you too?" she muttered, probably not a good sign in Chime's opinion. "What do you mean, not me too?" he demanded, resting a hand firmly on her shoulder.

"River came to me the moment he woke up; he had turned black too!" Heart sighed again, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "We're having so many consorts all of a sudden, it's weird!" The last word ended in a strangled sob. Uh oh, River, a consort? That was definitely not a good sign; Moon was a consort, and he absolutely hated River; he was aggressive and fought with Moon once too often. Well, maybe not only once...

"You're worried about Moon?" It was only a guess, but Heart flinched involuntarily. She let out yet another audible sigh, shook his hand off and left. Chime stood rooted tere or a moment, then went to find Moon.

He found Moon in the still plain consorts' bower with Ember teaching him how to read Raksuran text. Silly Moon, he thought. "Err...Moon?" Chime began uncertainly. Moon looked up, stared at Chime, and asked suspiciously,"Why are you black?"

"How would I know?" Chime blurted out."River too!" Moon tensed and dismissed Ember abruptly, who had been staring at them. He grabbed Chime's hand and lugged him outside. "Pearl, Jade, Sto+ne!" Moon yowled. He pulled Chime up the stairs, shook his head in confusion, and shifted. "Follow me." Moon snapped out his wings, almost hitting Chime, and climbed out onto the balcony overlooking the fountain outside. With a few hard flaps, he caught the wind and soared down onto the queens' level. Chime scrambled to follow.

In the queens' bower, Jade, Pearl and Stone, were chatting seriously with Heart and Merit. There was another Raksura queen siting some way behind them. Jade asked the queen to come over. "What is your name?"

"My name is Cloud." The new queen replied. Everyone in the room froze. Thanks to Stone, the whole court knew the tale of Indigo and Cloud. "Which court are you from?" Pearl demanded, recovering first. Cloud was silent. "Go on," Moon prompted, all the queens glared at him. "I came from Rainbow Leaf Court, which was destroyed not so long ago." She went on to introduce herself.

"It was destroyed by Fell and Dwei, working together...All except me...died. Even my comsort, Dark. I went to look for other courts to join, but Emerald Twilight declined me. They said that maybe your court will let me join... But, so I'm here. So...Can I join?"

Pearl did not waste a moment,"Yes. You can join." The rest looked shocked, Cloud just looked relieved. "But we have to change the court name," she went on, smugly. "How about Pearl Ember?"

"No, I want Jade Moon."

Cloud pulled Chime out for a moment. She soon came back, Chime looking happy and Cloud too. Jade was stunned, "Did you just claim him?"

"Yes I did, he said yes."

"So I suppose you want Cloud Chime?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind..."

Jade looked at Pearl, who nodded. "Are you okay with it?" Jade asked the mentors. Heart and Merit nodded. Halfway through the conversation, Stone had left the bower. Moon went to fetch him, with Cloud and Chime.

In Cloud's personal bower:

Cloud and Chime slept together, after having sex. Just then they woke up. The bower was decorated with the orange amber furnishings that Chime had requested. Moon had decided to make Chime Second Consort, which suited him very well. Then they fell asleep again, strangely.

A/N: Well, how was it? I know that the ending was a bit abrupt. Okay, maybe not only the ending...


End file.
